Cloth measuring device



March 4, 1941. J. w. HOLMAN CLOTH MEASURING DEVICE Filed Oct. 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MM?! 3 L.

March 4, 1941. J. w. HOLMAN CLOTH MEASURING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J WHOlIncuI/L 'I' I I 49.

Filed Oct. 18, 1959 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 t r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTH MEASURING DEVICE John W. Holman, Atchison, Kans.

' Application October 18, 1939, Serial No. 300,059

4 Claims. (01. 33-434) This invention relates to cloth measuring deof the parts shown in separated assemblage revices of the class comprising oppositely rotatable lation. wheels between which the cloth is engaged in a i The illustrative device in its more or less comrelative movement along its edge, the said wheels, mon components comprises a carrier base or body 5 or one of the same, having operative connection 1, a handle 8 attached to said base, a pair of 55 with a registering or recording mechanism by superimposed oppositely rotatable rollers 9 and which the extent of such movement translated l0 carried by the base between which the cloth into lineal measure is indicated. is engaged, and a registering or indicator dial H An object of the invention is to provide a demounted on the base through which the rotation 10 vice of the stated kind in which the registering of one of said rollers is translated into lineal or 1 or recording'mechanism can be released from its yardage measure. drive connection and will automatically return The upper roller 9 of the superimposed pair or reset itself to zero position, following a comis carried on one end of a straight rotatable shaft pleted measuring operation, by a simple manipu 12 supported in a bearing 13 upon the base, the lation or movement by the fingers. other end of which carries or is formed into a Another object is to provide such a device gear worm It. The lower roller m of said pair adapted to be easily and quickly applied or enis carried on the end of a bent non rotatable gaged with the cloth over its edge from the side, shaft or rod l5 extending from a plate l6 pivoted so as to facilitate and render its use most exto the underside of the base or handleas by e0 peditious. side swivels or a pivoting pin !'|-and having a A further object is to provide a device as charrearward trigger-like portion it by which it aoterized equipped with means for gauging the y e oc ed by finger D1111 so s t s i Sa positioning or distancing of the engaging wheels roller downward away from the upper roller as in- F from the cloth edge and for clamping or holding dicated by the dotted line positioning in Figure 5, 2 the device stationary at a desired point upon the a sp ng 8 tens oned against Sa plate-between cloth, as after a measuring operation, awaiting it and the baseserving to hold it with the roller or during acutting. normally in cooperative contact with the upper Combined with said objects, the general aim roller. Thus, the two rollers are caused to bear and purpose of the invention is to provide an imor tend to bear rotatably against each other, with proved practicable construction of such a device p s e directional relationship, t e first being 30 in a tool operable or manipulatable by hand and r d to ve r ti n o i s ppor in shaf adapted to measure relatively short extents or and the Second merely idlinglengths of cloth lightness, simplicity and easy The aforesaid gear worm Hi on the first roller use being essential requirements shaft engages with a worm wheel [9. Said worm An illustrative device embodying the invem Wheel is mounted upon a shaft 20 at right angu- 35 ti in one practical form is shown for example lar relation to the first named shaft (see Fig. 3), in the accompanying drawings by reference to in this instance by an interposed sleeve which in further description of the same hereinwhich it is fixed bound, d sleeve, however, after the invention will be readily understood. g 1005913 revolvable on the shaft Whlch 1s 40 In said drawings: stationary. Above the worm wheel, also mount- 4,0

ed upon said shaft by the intervening sleeve to which it likewise is fixed or bound, is the aforementioned registering or indicator dial l I, having engaged connection as by pin 22 with said worm wheel so as to definitely key the two members partly m f together upon the said sleeve. Above said dial figure 3 1S top plan and e Sectmnal is a pointer 23 held on the shaft by an inter- On the f of Figure locking nut 24 screwed to said shaft, a coil spring Figure 4 1s a perspective view of a detail of 25 being interposed between the dial and said co ru n taken in the e direction of pointer, with tensioned opposite and engagement so ure 1; with each, so as to mildly resist rotation of the Figure 5 is a sectional broken away View cordial in one direction and to more forcibly rotate responding otherwise substantially to Figure 2; or return it to a starting or normal position in and the opposite direction when the dial is freed to Figure 6 is a perspective detail view of certain the latter movement. In this connection, the 4 Figure 1 is a front-end perspective view of the device as applied in operative relation to the edge of a strip of cloth;

Figure 2 is a left side elevation of said device,

aforenamed pin 22 serves as astop at the normal zero point of the dial, for which purpose it is raised slightly above the dial surface so as to bear or strike against one side of the pointer 23 as will appear from Fig. 1. It will be understood that said 'pointer 23 remains always stationary, while the dial is arranged to turn operatively in the direction indicated by the arrowadjacent thereto in Fig. 1. A cap 26 is screwed to the shaft on top of said interlocking stationary nut, thus completing the assembly on said shaft.

This entire assembly, including the aforenamed shaft 20, and illustrated in separated assembly relation in Fig. 6, is in turn mounted upon a sliding member on the base. Said sliding member comprises a plate 21 movable between guides 28 at right angles to the operating shaft l2 and having a rearward grasp portion 27 by which to be pulled backward by the fingersf. A spring 29 on its forward end tends to draw and hold it normally forward against a stop 30. The aforesaid shaft 20 having :a base support in thismember, as shown in the detail of Fig. 6, carries the described assembly thereon with the worm wheel l9 normally engaging the gear worm I l under the action of said spring 29.

It will be understood that the aforesaid dial H is graduated into unit and fractional scale or measure markings, based upon the yard or other lineal measure, and it is adapted in this instance to register or measure up to six and a fraction yards. Being in effect unitary with the worm wheel l9, this dial, of course, rotates therewith upon drive of the gear worm on shaft l2 as the upper roller 9 is itself rotated in the proper direction indicated by the arrow upon that roller (see Fig. 1). Its ratio to said roller, which may be termed the measuring roller, is therefore the same as said worm wheel. This ratioin this instance approximately 1 to 70-is such that rotation of said measuring roller over or upon a. piece of cloth for a given distance is translated into a movement of the dial through a limited are representing the equivalent of said distance, this are movement being with reference to the pointer 23 starting with the point at which the dial is stopped-by the pin 22-against said pointer which is its zero or normal position. It will be understood that the measuring extent of the dial can be made as large or small as desired, depending merely upon its ratio, or that of the actuating worm wheel, to the measuring roller.

Behind the pair of superimposed cooperating rollers on the forward end of the base, a gauge 3! is provided for the purpose of regulating the extent to which the same are engaged over or along the cloth edge. Said gauge consists of a rela-- tively horizontal trough-like plate (see Fig. 4) opposed to the plane of said rollers at substantially the level of their contact with each other, adapted to bear against the edge of the cloth so as to limit the distance at which they may be engaged therewith from said edge. It is adjustably movable forward and back with relation to the rollers upon rearward carrier arms 32 slidable in guide-sleeves 33 on the underside of the base of the device. On one side, being the left one in this instance, a rearwardly extended portion 3W thereof also slides in a guide-Way formed by or in the side of said base. This rearwardly extended portion carries thereon a clamping member comprising the arm or lever 34 intermediately pivoted thereto, the rearward end of which is formed into a finger depressable shank or button 35 and the forward end of which is formed into a clamping jaw 36, the same being held tensionally in either of its up and down swing positions by a balance-spring 31 connected therewith from an anchor point in said gauge portion. Said clamping member serves to clamp and hold the device stationary on the cloth when so desired, as when a cutting is to be made after a measuring operation.

To facilitate engagement of the device, or its cooperating rollers upon a piece of cloth, a. guide is provided in an advanced or leading position ahead of said rollers, in this instance on the right hand side of the device. Said guide comprises upper and lower leaf members 38 and 38*, respectively, on an arm 33 supported from the base. In a practical embodiment, these may consist simply of sheet plate pieces, or a single piece of sheet metal out to form with a bended fold back upon itself. In addition to facilitating the engagement of the device or rollers upon the cloth, these guide members in advance of the rollers serve to smooth out the cloth passing therebetween.

In operation, the oppositely rotatable rollers9 and it are engaged with the cloth by pulling upon the trigger portion Hi so as to separate said rollers and passing the same with the aid of the guide members 38 and 38* over the edge of the cloth to the extent permitted by the gauge 3|, whereupon said trigger portion is released and the device is ready for operation. This application is, of course, made at the point where the beginning of a measurement is to be made, that is, with the rollers engaging or gripping the cloth at such point or the line from which the measure is to be taken. simply drawn along the edge of the cloth, with the guide members 38 and 38 smoothing out the material as it progresses, so that the cooperating rollers will rotate on opposite sides of the cloth. The rotation of the upper measuring roller is transmitted through its shaft and gear worm M to the worm wheel 19. This transmitted rotation is communicated to the dial ll, through its connection with said worm wheel, at the reducedratio in which the device is constructed and so moves said dial at a much lower speed rate. Being graduated suitably according to the operative ratio of the parts, the dial indicates the extent of measure from the measurdrawn over the cloth. Upon completion of the measuring operation, the slide plate 2! is drawn by pull upon its grasp portion 21 so as to disengage the worm. wheel I9 from the gear worm l4 so as to allow the spring 25 to return both the dial and said worm wheel back to the beginning or zero position, determined by the strike and stop of the pin 22 against the pointer arm 23. Each measuring operation, of course, starts from this zero position. The slide plate 2'! is then released to reengage the worm wheel H] with the gear worm it under pull of the spring 29.

At any point of pause in the measuring operation, for a cutting or other purpose, the clamping member 34 may be engaged to grip and hold the device stationary on the cloth by The device is then simply depressing its shank 35 by the thumb, and it is released, of course, by pressure in the opposite direction.

While the illustrative device has been described as one in which the registering or indicator is rotated with reference to a stationary pointer, it will be understood that the reverse of this arrangement may be employed and that the pointer instead may be rotated with reference to the dial which in such case would be stationary. Also, other variations or changes may be made in the arrangement and form of the specific parts and general construction of the device without departing from the actual scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the invention by the appended claims to the specific construction illustrated and described, beyond what said claims by their terms themselves impose.

The term oppositely rotating rollers as hereinafter used in the claims will be understood to have reference to the superimposed cooperating rollers, the upper of which performs the measuring or drive operation, and to include any such arrangement of rollers, wheels or the like performing the same function.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

' 1. In combination, a cloth measuring device including a frame and a pair of rollers carried thereby and spring pressed to grip the edge of a length of cloth between and to be rotated by frictional engagement therewith upon relative movement of the cloth and device, length indicating means actuated by the rotation of one of said rollers, and releasable gripping means carried by the frame for gripping the frame to the cloth and preventing relative movement of the cloth and frame.

2. In combination, a cloth measuring device including a frame and a pair of rollers carried thereby and spring pressed to grip the edge of a by the frame for gripping the frame to the cloth and preventing relative movement of the cloth and frame, said last mentioned means including a flanged channel-like guide member adapted to embrace the cloth edge, and a lever pivoted to the guide member and having a gripping jaw cooperating with one flange of the guide member to grip the cloth.

3. In combination, a cloth measuring device including a frame and a pair of rollers carried thereby and spring pressed to grip the edge of a length of cloth between and to be rotated by frictional engagement therewith upon relative movement of the cloth and device, length indi cating means actuated by the rotation of one of said rollers, releasable gripping means carried by the frame for gripping the frame to the cloth and preventing relative movement of the cloth and frame, said last mentioned means including a flanged channel-like guide member adapted to embrace the cloth edge, a lever pivoted to the guide member and having a gripping jaw cooperating with one flange of the guide member to grip the cloth, spring means positioned to hold the gripping jaw selectively in cloth gripping position and in free position from the cloth, and finger engaging means carried by the lever for shifting the same between said positions.

4. In combination, a cloth measuring device including a frame and a pair of rollers carried thereby and spring pressed to grip the edge of a length of cloth between and to be rotated by frictional engagement therewith upon relative movement of the cloth and device, length indicating means actuated by the rotation of one of said rollers, releasable gripping means carried by the frame for gripping the frame to the cloth and preventing relative movement of the cloth and frame, said last mentioned means including a flanged channel-like guide member adapted to embrace the cloth edge, and a lever pivoted to the guide member and having a gripping jaw cooperating with one flange of the guide member to grip the cloth, said gripping means being mounted on said frame to slide toward and from the cloth edge.

JOHN W. HOLMAN. 

